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A woman sweeps a staircase
© AFP/File Mychele Daniau

The Independent daily reported that "even in an age when women are making economic strides and excelling in the workplace, the one thing that gives the majority a sense of empowerment is a good go around the house with the vacuum cleaner -- followed by some cleaning and dusting."

The online study, commissioned by the Discovery Home and Health website, found the average woman between 18 and 80 spent nine years, two months and 25 days of her waking life cleaning and tidying.

But 59 percent of the women interviewed would have it no other way and said "cleaning makes them feel in control of their lives", while 60 percent said they found it "mentally therapeutic".

"Where 20 years ago housework was seen by many as a sign of female subjugation, the tide appears to have turned," the paper said.

Nearly six out of 10 defended their role in the home and said they "felt depressed if their house was a mess", while 59 percent said "untidiness and clutter made them feel tense".

Only a tiny minority of four percent felt cleaning the home to be "a waste of time and effort."

The survey of 2,000 women found cleaning chores to be a higher priority than personal grooming, and one third claimed "cleaning gives them more satisfaction than sex".

However 57 percent of women admitted that cleaning exhausted them, particularly as 71 percent also had a job.

Although only 22 percent said they actively enjoyed cleaning and tidying, two-thirds said the "results made them happy" and half said it was "visually joyful" which left them feeling "proud of their achievements."

Nearly half of those interviewed (46 percent) described themselves as "cleanaholics", while 46 percent wished they could "cut down on cleaning".

Eight out of 10 respondents compared the cleanliness of their home with other people's, while 70 percent feared they would be thought "lazy" if their homes were untidy.

Only one in 10 women employed a cleaner, but of those six out of 10 "still cleaned up before she or he arrives," the paper said.

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